Sunday, 30 November 2014

Whenever we talk about kids, what do you picture? A lovely kid with chubby cheeks, sweet smile and shiny hair. Unfortunately, more than fifty percent of India’s kids do not have the features. These kids have hollow cheeks, dry, undernourished hair, cracked lips and vacant eyes. These are the victims of a demon called malnutrition. It is not some ordinary demon, but the dementor from ‘Harry Potter’ which sucks the hope and happiness from this kids, and makes them cranky, and listless. Those of you who think that malnutrition is over-rated, let me tell you, India has the highest prevalence of underweight children in the world, almost double than Sub-Saharan Africa. Malnutrition in India can not be ignored, and is also prevalent among affluent family though less than the poverty stricken.

Monday, 24 November 2014

Children are like flowers; they brighten the atmosphere and cheer us with their presence. Sadly, these flowers are wilting due to the increasing incidence of child abuse and neglect.

Child Abuse

According to Us Federal child abuse prevention and treatment act, child abuse is
“Any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, sexual abuse or exploitation; or an act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm.”

History of child abuse

The first documented case of child abuse occurred in 1874. A child named Mary Allen was discovered chained to the bedpost. Her plight was brought to attention of American Society for Prevention of Cruelty against Animals, who interceded on her behalf. Subsequently, in 1875, American Society for Prevention of Cruelty against Children was formed.

Friday, 14 November 2014

For this children’s day, instead of me, my friend offered to write a post. She wants to share her childhood memory related to child labour, and how it affected her.
This post by Dr. Nilofar Attar is part of Shankhnaad for happy children. To contribute a post, or read other posts which are a part of this campaign check ‘Happy children equals to a happy world’.

We had gone to Juhu Chaupati with my family friends, I was eleven years old and my younger brother was nine. We enjoyed snacks with our friends and had tea. When we finished my brother, always a good boy took all the cups to place them at the counter. Immediately our friends interrupted him and signaled one of the few boys working in the hotel, saying ‘it was their job, let them do it’. I looked at their innocent faces. The shame that they have to serve children of their age was reflected on their faces. When the boy cleaned our table with the cloth placed on his shoulders, it seems as if he was carrying the huge burden on those weak shoulders. I saw tears in my brother’s eye which he wiped away. I was disturbed. What if we were one of them? What would be like if we didn’t have our loving father and mother that we had now. I still get the same feeling if I pass any child who is struggling to fulfill his needs. It is said that the childhood is the best time anyone has. but when these children are forced into labour, exploited as servants in households, dragged into begging racket,human trafficking, how can we as human ignore another innocent human’s trouble? Someone who is just like us, and whose wounds hurt as badly as ours.

Wednesday, 12 November 2014

When a child is born, he/she has only one attribute: curiosity. He is curious about the various sounds, different objects and the people around him. He wants to know all about them. That’s when he starts his education. He tries to focus on every little thing that catches his attention. There are so many new things to learn, and the little one has no sense of priority. He tries to take in every new thing and gets easily distracted.

As he grows, he starts receiving guidance from others and his education progresses. Then, finally starts his formal education. Now, all his queries would be answered. He should be exuberant, right? It seldom works that way.

There are two classes (aren’t there always?) of kids: the kids who can’t afford education, and the ones who are victims of education.

Wednesday, 5 November 2014

Blogadda announced the contest 'beyond boundaries' and selected our post 'technology and life' as one of the winners. Actually, my blogger friend Swati was supposed to attend the INKLive conference but she had to go to Chennai. I hadn’t even heard about INK prior to this. So, when I was offered the pass, the first thing I did was check what the INK conference was all about.

This is what I found: "The INK Conference is an annual conference that aims to fuel innovation and foster knowledge by bringing together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers on a global stage."

Image Courtesy: inktalks.com

Big, impressive words, but I wasn't much impressed.The reason was I hate to sit and listen to lectures for hours. I attend conferences, mostly dental and sometimes literary, to meet friends. Besides, I wasn't supposed to attend INK conference but the INKLive conference. INKLive is the live web cast of the INK Conference hosted at a venue close to the main conference venue. This added to my lingering doubts.

After attending the conference, I was surprised that this was one conference, I focused on listening to the speakers rather than meeting people. The attendees were cool, the INKLive hospitality and team was friendly and helpful, but I was engrossed in the sessions.The sessions were mesmerizing. I know mesmerizing sounds a bit too much, but it’s the truth. Have you ever got up to witness the sunrise? The warm sun rays infuse an enthusiasm and positivity which brightens your day. Listening to the achievers is like that; you realize the there are no limitations except the ones you put on yourself. So, I’ll describe more of the sessions than other things.

The sessions

Due to my busy schedule, I could only attend the second day of the conference which was on 2nd November. The INKLive conference was in American School of Bombay, Kohinoor City. Since, I stay in Mumbai I couldn't hope for a better location than Mumbai itself. The two morning sessions for the day were traveller's tales and Future Billions. I settled for some supposedly funny anecdotes on travel and a lecture on economics. I was in for a surprise.

This was no ordinary traveler's tale. It wasn’t a travel where you move across regions and geographical boundaries. True to the spirit of the year’s theme, ‘beyond boundaries’, these were the people who traveled beyond our time, beyond the limitations of our systems and technology. Be it Leonard Pauli’s quest for more freedom (which led him to start a website for fellow students), Neeraj Kakkar’s thoughts of food migration, scope of the Internet by other speakers or changing the face of conservative travel as in case of Phanindra Sama. These speakers were the travelers who followed a dream, and made it to their destination.

Wednesday, 29 October 2014

Every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man. ~Rabindranath Tagore

A child is born happy; his/her happiness radiates around the area infecting people in the vicinity. You might have had a depressing day, but when a child laughs, your first reaction is to smile back. The reason God sends kids to this world is because he wants to counteract the forces of sadness and evil in the world.

Some situations and people suck the joy out of the children. Malnutrition, child labour and child abuse are some of the culprits. Instead of happy children, we have kids who are scared, half-starved and abused. As a human being and a citizen of this world, it is our duty to prevent anything/anyone from wiping a child’s smile.

In India, November 14th is celebrated as children’s day. We decided to extend it a little bit and dedicate the whole month for children. This is a campaign to spread awareness about child’s rights and related issues, and how we can as individuals contribute in protecting a child’s smile.

All the Shankhnaad posts for this topic can be found on this page. You can contribute too, if you wish. All you have to do is write a post in November, about children. It could be a prose/poetry or fiction/non-fiction. It doesn’t have to be about children’s issues. It could be a happy post about children. Link your post to this page with a text “Shankhnaad for happy children” and add your link to this page. If you want, you can grab a ‘Shankhnaad for happy children’ badge and proudly display it on your post(optional).

The only condition to take part in this campaign is before you write, you have to take the pledge below:

“I may not be able to help all the children around the world, but if I see any child in distress, I’ll do my best to help him/her. I’ll never be a participant or an indifferent observer to any sort of injustice met to kids.”

Copy(using ctrl+c)the HTML code to grab the badge and post it in your blog post:

“We aren’t professionals in the field, but we are here to make every amateurish effort count.” - Shankhnaad-the sound of change Team.

Monday, 13 October 2014

When we think of novels, the first thing that comes to mind is flow, an original voice and continuity. So, when Blogadda formed teams of ten authors to write a single story, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea. I, like other bloggers, can’t say no to any creative writing endeavor, and became a part of the game of blogs.

When we started writing, I realised that the saying, too many cooks spoil the feast isn’t always true. At times, every cook adds his individual flavour, and the dish turns out more delicious than expected.

Thank you Blogadda for giving us a chance to explore our creativity and have fun at the same time.

Now, we have a novel where every chapter has a different, refreshing voice like the vivid sky displaying various shades of blue, white, and red, the shades instead of diminishing add to it’s beauty.

Memory Intrigues:

One phone call causes an upheaval in Shekhar Dutta’s life. It was the beginning of a disaster. He can no longer trust his own wife, and is ignorant about the shadow overcasting his daughter’s happiness.

Tara Dutta believes that success is the key to happiness. None of her calculations work when her ambition is entangled with a family crisis.

Where is Jennifer Joseph? Shekhar and the media are intrigued. Jennifer is on the run. She thinks, she has everything under control but control is a tricky thing.

Cyrus Daruwala has goals set in life; his research is progressing in the right direction and a brilliant career is awaiting him. What more would a student want? A shortcut to success. Only he has no idea where the path leads.

Everyone has a secret hidden safely or so they think. Secrets are hard to keep and harder to reveal when the time comes.

Memory Intrigues, Part III

We invite you join us in our thrilling adventure, and don't forget to let us know how you like it. You can comment on individual chapters or on the blogadda page here. (On Blogadda page you stand a chance to win goodies, if your comment is selected.) You can also let us know on our Facebook Page: Dynamic WordWeavers. And while you are at it, why not like the page too? On the page you'll find more about the authors and also some inside stories on how we fabricated the story. So, keep following our FB page.

Read
the previous part of the story hereor check out all chapters on our FB
page here.

The
story so far:

The
phone rings a couple of times more. This time Cyrus decides to
pick it up, assuming it could be some urgent call. He hits the
accept button but before he could even say “Hello”:

“Why
are you not picking my call?? It’s you who has done a
mistake. It’s you who has leaked the news about Jen and the
memory card and now you show me attitude and refuse to pick up my
calls! Tara. you are just impossible!!”

Beep..beep..beep…
the call gets cut. Cyrus stands there cogitating about what he has
just heard.

Agitated,
Shekhar decides to pick Roohi up from school.

_____________________________________________________________

Chapter 20

Back
home with Roohi, all his attention is on the clock, anticipating
Tara’s return. After many unsuccessful calls to Tara, he calls his
friend to cancel their meeting. He can’t leave Roohi alone at home.

Shekhar
is fed up of Tara’s annoying behaviour. Every time they quarrel,
she either rants, or sulks and ignores him. He has to apologise
though he may not be wrong. This time, he knows Tara has crossed the
line. If she expects him to back off, she is in for a surprise.
Shekhar starts up and shuts down his laptop four times before
abandoning it. He finds it hard to concentrate. After pacing up and
down the balcony for half an hour he eventually manages to settle
down a bit and get down to some writing.

“She
pushed the door open, and saw him glaring at her. She should have
been afraid but she had no idea what awaited her. She ignored him and
went inside. He followed her into the kitchen, the best place for
what he wanted to do. She faced him when she turned to take out the
rice container. He blocked her path, she must have sensed something
because she moved back a few steps. Without any warning, he gripped
her delicate neck with his hands and started squeezing it.”

Chapter- 4

Finishing before the deadline is an “Eureka” moment for a writer. Shekhar has already mailed his article yesterday evening, so he can concentrate on his second novel. His first novel is still on the shelf, but he hopes to see it soon in the bookstores. He is not going to allow a few rejection slips to shatter his dreams. He sits there staring at the screen, tapping his fingers on the wooden desk. He takes off his glasses and wipes them twice. The calm, cozy room fails to inspire him. There have been times when he hammered non-stop on the keyboard. Today, he hasn’t typed a single word, unless he counts the words which were erased by the click of the “delete” key. He isn’t devoid of ideas; the ideas fly around like bubbles which rupture as soon as he touches them.

His study is secluded just as he likes it. Tara is in her office and Roohi is never a disturbance. He has also closed the curtains to avoid distraction. His room seems like an isolated, dimly-lit cave, but that doesn’t prevent his mind from wandering. After that disturbing call, Jennifer hasn't called again. Shekhar's normally smiling face has started to show worry lines. Still staring at the screen, he imagines a world where he could write without worrying about finding publishers or readers, a content and less nagging Tara, a happy Roohi, and no friends in danger.

A harsh, ringing noise disrupts his reverie, he looks around for his mobile. Sifting frantically through the pile on his desk, he finds it and answers without bothering to check the number.

“Hello!” he screams into the cell phone. If the other person doesn’t like being screamed at, it isn’t his problem. He doesn’t like being disturbed either.

“Shekh, I’m scared...they are onto me.” He hears Jennifer’s voice along with her laboured, heavy breathing. The clamorous din in the background suggests she might have called from a market or perhaps, a station.

“Where are you? Have you reached Mumbai?” Shekhar fiddles with the bunch of keys on the desk. Though his voice is still high-pitched, it is mixed with concern. It has been two days since the previous call. Kochi isn’t that far from Mumbai.

“No, I-I couldn’t get away.”

“What do you mean ‘couldn’t get away’? Who are these people?” He grips the keys hard, his palm hurts as the edge digs into his palm. “Jen-”

Tuesday, 26 August 2014

As a kid, my only opinion of the Indian police was formed thanks to Bollywood movies. I considered them some guys who arrived after everything happens (like beating up the bad guys) to arrest the bad guys.
Later, I encountered various types of Police: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Friday, 15 August 2014

Freedom
or Liberty isn’t a light word to be trifled with, long declarations
are dedicated to it, wars are fought in its name and now, the state recognizes the right to freedom. The last one used to confuse
me as a child. If we are born free then, why does some one confer
upon us right to freedom? Then, I started growing up and saw birds in
cages, animals in zoos, and humans trapped in their own virtual
prisons, I realized how difficult it is to remain free. The poor
animals are the victims of being the weaker species but man who is
supposed to be intelligentisn’t free
either.

Monday, 4 August 2014

He wasn’t here to create smiles. The correct term was social service. He glanced at the weary faces, some of them disfigured by a swelling, waiting for their turn to come, hoping the man in the white coat would somehow make everything alright.

His job consisted mostly extractions, the word conservation unheard in these parts, seldom an emergency root canal opening. They had too many patients, and too little time. The dental clinic was equipped with basic equipments, the dental chair barely functional. There wasn’t even a regular dentist. Some dentists like him visited once a month, every last Sunday, to provide basic dental care.

This wasn't the dentistry he knew.

Though his mind wandered, his hands worked with the same efficiency, and his face held his routine smile. The patient, whose tooth he had just extracted gave him a lopsided smile, revealing missing anterior tooth. He shuddered.

How do these people eat with so many missing teeth? He realized the right question was, do they even afford to eat everyday? He stared at the calluses on their hand, their sun burnt skin and worn out clothes.

This wasn’t the world he knew.

The gloomy atmosphere was more suffocating than the dingy, cluttered room. Was he in some bizarre, dystopian novel? The people, he knew, would go at lengths just to modify their smile, to enhance their beauty. These were the people who couldn’t afford pain relief, they had no reason, no occasion to smile. If only he could create smiles here!

This was the place where God Himself had forgotten to distribute smiles.D is for Dentistry; for Dentists who Dedicate their life to solve your dental problems.

Wednesday, 23 July 2014

Swaraj is my birthright, and I shall have it!”- Lokmanya Tilak

Every child in India knows the above sentence and the man who said it. However, when he talked about it Swaraj was considered a hopeless dream, a mission impossible. The British had invested in a lot of propaganda to make Indians believe that British Raj was for their own good and how freedom wasn’t a happy outcome. Many Indian leaders shared the outlook. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was the first leader who not only challenged the idea but believed that freedom was possible.

Most of the leaders of that time preached from the dais but half of them weren’t eager to work along with the people. They considered the Indian people backward in ideas. Tilak was the leader of the masses and earned the title ‘Lokmanya’(acceptable to the people) with his involvement with the people from all strata of society.

Monday, 30 June 2014

Netherlands vs Mexico match in round of 16, besides being an amazing match also gave some life lessons. Mexico had almost made into quarter finals when there was a dramatic twist in the last few minutes.

This was one of the Fifa matches, I'm glad I did watch. The match gave valuable insights to life.

People watching the match on big screen at Museumplein, Amsterdam

When the going gets tough the tough get going

The dutch
players demonstrated the expression to thrive under pressure. Only three
minutes were left and Mexico had almost won. The dutch tried their best
in spite of the odds piling against them.

Life also
keeps on piling problems at us. If we let the problems affect us, then
we start losing hope. We have to remember at such times that victory
wouldn't be so much sought if it was very easy. tough times help us
prove our mettle, don't let them discourage you.

You can't be sure of the outcome till the end of the game.

By
the end I was going to switch off the television thinking Mexico had
qualified. That got me thinking. How many times have I given up trying
thinking it's too late?

The game can change course in the last two
minutes, never quit trying till after the last second. Most of the
times, we quit just before the game was going to turn on our side.

The winners win because they don't breakdown or give
up. Remember, winners aren't born, they are made. Every life is a making
of a winner, some follow through, some quit.

Get up and follow your dreams, happiness is awaiting you at the next turn.

Saturday, 28 June 2014

I’ve wondered how people brand each other, either conservative or modern. As I see it, both the terms are illusions. If you are in agreement with the current values, then you are modern. The problem is modern keeps on changing. The values which are modern today might be outdated years later. It must be exhausting to keep up with the latest values. Liberals (today’s modern trend) might blame the conservatives but they aren’t very fast to embrace real progressive ideas either. The real progressive people are remembered in history as ‘the man who was ahead of his time’. The poor guy is thought a weirdo in his times.

Thursday, 26 June 2014

Recently, I came across a poem written
by Krushnaji Narayan Athalye, the poem serves to remind that good and
bad attitude both are just as problematic when taken to the extremes.
The key to finding happiness is to find the middle.

It is a 20 stanza poem written in the style of Manache shloka by Saint Ramdas. The below mentioned stanza is my favourite. Pardon my translation, I tried my best to convey the meaning.

Sunday, 15 June 2014

Life has been defined various times. Whenever, anyone has time on their hands. he sits down and contemplates on the mystery of life. Life according to me, is a quest. We are all in search of something or the other. It might be the search for recognition, perfection or some higher ideals like working of the universe or life on another planet.

The truth is everyone has their own search, and so a different pathway of life. A poor man is in search of wealth, the wealthy man in search of happiness, the sick man in search of wealth, the lonely man searches love and so on. The truth is whatever your search is, it continues as long as you are alive. If you find whatever you are looking for, you realize you have lost something else and the quest begins all over again.

So in order to not lose something on the way, you need to look at the larger picture. It’s not just about the quest but the reason behind the quest. Why is this quest important to you? While embarking on your quest, remember to enjoy life along the way because some things can never be found once you lose them.

The important thing is to remember you aren’t alone in this search. Your family, friends are part of the search team. Be careful not to leave behind any of your team-mates while you are busy completing your quest. They may slow down the search at times, but they add to the fun.

What is your quest in life? Have you found your goal? Are you satisfied now? I’d love to know your views.

Disclaimer: As I have already written, ample of free time forces us to speculate on philosophies of life. Since, yours truly has much of this free time on various days, I might postulate various theories as regards to life. It wouldn’t be decent of you to point out that some of my theories contradict each other. ;) :P

Sunday, 8 June 2014

This post has been published by me as a part of the Blog-a-Ton 47; the forty-seventh edition of the online marathon of Bloggers; where we decide and we write. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton.

When you want to understand emotions, you can’t rely on the spoken word. Sometimes, the heart is too full for words. Sometimes, words are not enough. The deep seated feelings seldom find their way towards the lips. They are hidden in the corner of the heart. When they manage to leave the heart, they get stuck in the throat, and at times wander to the eyes.

In this respect, the nature is similar to humans.The nature speaks through the gushing waves, the chirping birds, and the rustling waves, but it is more eloquent when it speaks through silence. The silent sea speaks louder than the turbulent waves. The sun rises, the dewdrops glisten, the stars shine and the flowers dance in silence. Silence is the language in which God speaks, we need silence to get in touch with our souls. It is a language that transcends boundaries. Some things need to be felt not said.

We are busy talking about everything, we seldom find time to listen. When we do listen, we are so wrapped up in ourselves we tend to forget to hear the words left unsaid. The pain, the agony and the hurt are often missed. These depressed emotions which don’t find words, find a way through tears, or sometimes, through the blood let out of a cut wrist.

Silence must be heard. It is an unseen and unheard cord which binds people together. A reassuring pat, a silent smile makes all the difference. An extensive vocabulary may make you knowledgeable, but it is worthless if you don’t have the wisdom to listen to the unsaid words. You might know many languages but your soul knows only two - love and silence. Remember, when the soul talks listen with your heart.

The fellow Blog-a-Tonics who took part in this Blog-a-Ton and links to their respective posts can be checked here. To be part of the next edition, visit and start following Blog-a-Ton. Participation Count: 01

Tuesday, 27 May 2014

I have always wondered about happiness. It seems like happiness comes in life in moments and remains elusive as ever. However, everyone goes on an eternal pusuit of happiness. In Manache Sloka, Saint Ramdas says ‘ Jagi sarva sukhi asa kon ahe, vichare mana tuchi shoduna pahe’ (Who is the happiest man on this earth? Try if you can find him) indicating that such a person doesn’t exist.

All religions promise to deliver an eternal happiness. Maybe, it’s this promise which attracts man towards religion. Each one of us wants to be happy. We want to hold on to the moments which make us happy and stretch them forever.